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Thursday, January 9, 2014

4K TVs, Worth It?

There is another product that has been making splashes in the technology markets, and that is 4K TVs. 4K TVs are extremely high resolution has about 4000 pixels on one dimension, making them extremely crisp, but also extremely expensive. There is hope coming as announced today at CES 2014, a technology conference of sorts that unveils a lot of new technology. Vizio now has a model, not a great one mind you, for $1000. Otherwise, you can pay up to $40,000. 4K TVs are cool, but at this point they are unnecessary and there is no need to blow thousands of dollars on one because there is not enough content in 4K, there is no infrastructure to stream in 4K, and its just too dang expensive for anything of quality.

4K has an extremely low amount of broadcasters right now, in both the streaming and regular TV realms, and they're only really big names on really big events. You would haveto get something specifically designed or a 4K TV. Given, some networks will be broadcasting in 4K soon, but I'm afraid that it will not go as planned. Broadcasting in that high of resolution will likely be less than stellar and will be a lot of work for broadcasting companies, limiting its growth, at least in the near future. 4K streaming is a bit different, but still a pretty bleak outlook. Netflix, for example, plans to record all future original shows in 4K, but that's just one company, a company that also has a ton of money invested in the growing business of streaming. In other words, the success of 4K will, they believe, enhance their profits if people can view in great definition. This is by no means widespread throughout Netflix though, and will likely be a while before even some shows are offered through 4K.

4K is also not worth it at this time because the infrastructure is just not there to support broadcasting and streaming. The recording and broadcasting equipment will be very expensive as is the TV to watch it. There is also the problem with streaming, that many people's internet will not support 4K streaming, or it will but it will not by any means be fast and the content you want to watch will probably not be very comprehensible.

The last and probably most important reason not to buy a 4K TV is they're insanely expensive. I don't see the point of dropping probably at least $1000 to get a TV, when you're not going to be using it to its full potential. Plus, when 4K is more widely implemented, you'll just have a TV that's first-gen, and you'll want a new TV. If you're gaming at all, it probably won't look any better on 4K, as your console only outputs a maximum of 1080p.

All in all, I would highly suggest waiting for a 4K TV. I am by no means an expert on this stuf, especially when it comes to TVs, but from what I've gathered, I just don't think its a smart investment. Wait a couple of years, and go ahead, a bunch of people will be in 4K and prices for TVs will have gone down. But until that time comes, its probably better to stay with your ol' 1080p screen and be satisfied with super HD that is already available.